I have come across suggestions that Buddha Statues in our shrines should face the East, because the Buddha's enlightenment occurred whilst He was sitting, facing East, under the Bhodi Tree. Then, again, there is the suggestion that when meditating we should also face the East. If we adhere to both these suggestions, then our backs will be towards the Buddha Statues in our shrines.

Presently, the Buddha Statues on my shrine face the East and I sit in meditation in front of the shrine, facing West. I do not have access to a Sangha, Buddhist temples or meditation centres in the region I live, so I will appreciate any advice in this matter.

Once a Korean woman and her family were at my previous house and they were complaining that my Buddha statues were not facing East. I also felt that it was just clinging to rites and rituals. In my current home, the statues are all facing East, but that has more to do with the fact that my condo / home faces East and it was the best way to place the statues.

I asked a Sri Lankan monk about this and he said it doesn't matter to him either and he also places the statues whichever way looks best, not the direction.

The Bodhisatta was born between two Sal trees and as soon as he was born, he took seven steps to the north and announced: “I am chief in the world, I am best in the world, I am first in the world. This is my last birth. There will be no further rebirths.”

The Bodhisatta was sitting under the Bodhi Tree facing East when he became enlightened.

Just before his parinibbana, at his request, the Buddha laid on his right side with his head pointing north and facing west, under two Sal trees.

These are the traditional postures. The Buddha thought it important enough to deliberately use these postures.

However - as statues of the Buddha did not appear for hundreds of years after his death, one can wonder at the very use of statues themselves not just their positioning.

with mettaChris

---The trouble is that you think you have time------Worry is the Interest, paid in advance, on a debt you may never owe------It's not what happens to you in life that is important ~ it's what you do with it ---

Refugee wrote:Presently, the Buddha Statues on my shrine face the East and I sit in meditation in front of the shrine, facing West. I do not have access to a Sangha, Buddhist temples or meditation centres in the region I live, so I will appreciate any advice in this matter.

If it has meaning for you, then don't pay a bit of attention to any of the naysayers.

This being is bound to samsara, kamma is his means for going beyond. -- SN I, 38.

“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?” HPatDH p.723

>> Do you see a man wise[enlightened/ariya]in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.<<-- Proverbs 26:12

tiltbillings wrote:If it has meaning for you, then don't pay a bit of attention to any of the naysayers.

Tilt has an extremely good point here. On one level there are many thing that are "not essential". However, they are useful aids to mindfulness, respectful behaviour, and fitting into a community. These include taking off shoes, not pointing feet at monks or Buddha rupa, trying to use the locally-accepted method for bowing, and even such silly-sounding things as not smelling flowers one is going to present to the Wat. Clearly none of this is "essential", but if one wandered around inside a Buddhist meditation hall with shoes on it would certainly generate a lot of negativity.

Getting back to the Buddha Rupa. It may not be feasible to have statues facing east, but the thinking about it, and the possible rearrangement of the room to do it, may be a useful reminder that one has taken refuge in the Buddha, which I think is the main point of having any statues in the first place.

tiltbillings wrote:If it does not have meaning for Ajahn B having the Buddha-rupa facing east, does that mean it should not have meaning for anyone else?

No, that wasn't what I was saying. Ajahn Brahm made the joke to illustrate that it doesn't appear (to him) to be so important, personally I agree, others might not. If facing our Buddha rupa's at home towards the East is an external expression of our internal devotion then that's good. Perhaps we agree on this point. But the internal aspect of devotion, in my opinion, is much more important than simply following external protocols without understanding their symbolic meaning.

Four types of letting go:

1) Giving; expecting nothing back in return2) Throwing things away3) Contentment; wanting to be here, not wanting to be anywhere else4) "Teflon Mind"; having a mind which doesn't accumulate things

I see what you mean Tilt: what I consider to be unhelpful to my practice may be helpful someone else, and what I consider to be helpful to my practice may be unhelpful to someone else (sorry for repeating what's been said already). Hmmm, I've much to learn.